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Poor Housekeeping Makes for a Poor Showing

By
Real Estate Agent with The Carver Home Team 24332

I just listed a completely remodeled home by one of my investors. The rains here kept them from working on the outside, but on the inside, they had put in all new appliances including a refrigerator, slab granite countertops, new floors, paint,etc. While they were rebuilding the deck and cleaning off the debris, the ants found their way in through the open sliding glass door. So the workers put some ant traps which they promptly forgot to take out. They were going to clean it up and save the money hiring professional cleaning service. The rains kept them from getting the back yard completed. They wanted to save the money and do the work themselves rather than having the landscape contractor do the work while he was doing the front. This cost them 2 weeks and they left it to the last and until now it is still not complete whereas the landscape service would have had it done in 2 days. They had called the stager in to complete the staging 2 weeks ago thinking they would have it done much to her protest that they have 2 more weeks of work. The investor bought the home at auction and hauled of 4 loads of items so he felt that the home was in the perfect condition to show. Didn't matter when I told them that it wasn't. Now, the best thing for us a agents to use is 3rd party feedback. I believe in it and every agent that comes through my listings is automatically sent a feedback questionaire. If they don't fill it out, it's sent out again. I also send a personal email asking them for their thoughts.

Zero days on the market and we had a showing. Thank goodness this agent completed the questionaire. I also set any feedbacks to go directly to the seller of the property. She said in one feedback what the investors were told by many professionals and they are now scrambling to finish the work. I wanted to hold off listing it until I thought it was ready but knowing the personality of the seller, listing it and letting him hear for himself what buyers (or sometimes it's just the agents) thinks about the "little things" was the best thing that happened. This incident completely confirms my discussions with all sellers that no matter how nice or newly remodeled a house is, nothing turns off a buyer more than poor housekeeping. Most buyers and agents can't see the forrest for the trees and so a perfect home can be "poor" because of just some little thing. As a buyer's agent, I always get a list of what the buyers are looking for and constantly remind them of those major features and remind them that the house will look different when they move in. I don't get paid to be a tour guide. I get paid to sell a house.

Comments (3)

Richard Burge Realty/ Burge Homes
Richard Burge Realty/Burge Homes - Conway, SC
Broker in Charge/Owner

Poor house keeping in forclosed homes in the general theme these days.  Stripped and deferred maintenance is the theme.  Even the lawn guys keep the grass cut but usually no trimming the property or things that make a house a home to desire, like flowers.   

 

Great post...

Jun 09, 2012 09:01 PM
John Pusa
Glendale, CA

Cyndi - It is true, poor housekeeping makes for a poor showing. Thank you for sharing very good blog.

Jun 10, 2012 01:30 AM
Starlene Ward
RE/MAX Performance Plus - Kent, WA

Cyndi - So very true! People come into a house expecting to see something from Homes & Garden or Architectural Digest. Even if they say they are willing to do a bit of work, I have seen clients totally turned off from a house because of the lack of care of the yard or cleanliness of the interior. Even something as simple as changing paint colors can prohibit Buyers from falling in love with a home. We all want to move into a Model Home (and leave all of our own messy lives behind). No one thinks that "this is what it will look like when it is lived in"! Want top dollar for your home? Clean it up! Replace or screw in the lightbulbs in the sockets! Open the drapes and have clean windows! No one wants to move into a messy house, and many people think the way it looks when viewing it is the way it will look when they move in.

Jun 12, 2012 09:48 AM